Tobacco Advertising and Canadian Law

Summary of the Canadian Tobacco Act

In 1997, the Tobacco Act was enacted to regulate the manufacturing, sale, labelling and promotion of tobacco products in Canada.

The catch-all phrase "promotion" means representation of a product or service in a way that is likely to influence and shape the public's attitudes and beliefs and buying behaviour. Aspects of tobacco promotion addressed in the Act include direct means such as advertisements, sponsorships and retail marketing; and also less direct means, such as the portrayal of tobacco in the movies, and in foreign media.

Advertisements

According to section 22 of the Act, tobacco companies may only promote their products:

In publications delivered directly to an identified adult through the mail; or that have a known adult readership of not less than eighty-five per cent;
In places where young people aren't permitted by law, such as bars or taverns;
By highlighting actual brand characteristics (brand-preference advertising) or by providing factual information about the characteristics, availability or price of the product (information advertising).

Tobacco companies may not:

Use "lifestyle" advertising featuring glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk or daring, or other associations that might appeal to young persons.
Depict (in whole or in part) any tobacco product, or its package or brand - or even any imagery that might evoke a product or brand (section 22)
Sponsor youth-oriented activities or events (section 24)
Include the name of a tobacco product or manufacturer as part of the name of a permanent sports or cultural facility (section 25)

Sponsorship

Traditionally, sponsoring sporting, arts, and cultural events have been an effective way for tobacco companies to build brand recognition and reach consumers. But in 1998, amendments to the Tobacco Act placed restrictions on tobacco sponsorship and promotion. The new restrictions were phased in gradually, over a five-year period. (This was done to give organizers time to find new sponsors.) This amendment states that:

Events supported by the tobacco industry before April 1997 could continue receiving such support for the five-year transition period.
Tobacco companies could still feature promotional materials for sponsored events at the site of the event for its duration.
Limitations on off-site sponsorship promotion would be implemented gradually. Tobacco brand names or elements would be confined to the bottom 10 per cent of any promotional display surface; and distribution of those materials would be limited to direct mailings to identified adults, and advertisements in adult publications, taverns and bars, and at the site of the event itself.

By the end of the five-year transition period (October 2003), tobacco sponsorship promotions and the display of tobacco brand elements in or on permanent facilities would be prohibited altogether.

Accessories

Manufacturers and retailers are permitted to sell accessories that display brand elements related to tobacco products, but only to adults (section 26).
Tobacco manufacturers are not permitted to display such brand elements on non-tobacco products that are likely to appeal to young people (section 27(a)).
Tobacco manufacturers are not permitted to give away branded non-tobacco products - they must either be sold directly, or given away as "freebies" only after tobacco products have been purchased (section 29).

Retail Promotions

Under section 30 of the Tobacco Act, retailers are permitted to display branded tobacco products and accessories, as well as signs that indicate the availability of tobacco products and their prices.

Tobacco in Movies

The Act's definition of "promotion" doesn't include tobacco products or brands that are used or depicted in a literary, dramatic, musical, cinematographic, scientific, educational or artistic works, productions or performances - as long as the tobacco company isn't paying for the inclusion of the tobacco product or brand (section 18).

Foreign Media

Although the Act doesn't place restrictions on tobacco advertising and publications, broadcasts or communications from outside Canada, Canadian tobacco manufactures are not permitted to use foreign ads, campaigns or information to promote their products or bands if they contravene the regulations in Canada's Tobacco Act (section 31(3)).